On the first episode of Decoder, Nilay Patel interviews Mark Cuban. Mark is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he’s a tech investor, and is on the hit show, Shark Tank. The conversation, recorded as last week’s election results rolled in, covers how interwoven business, technology, and policy are, whether its 5G, or the NBA bubble, or AI, or his investments into healthcare -- if you want to understand the landscape of the future, you have to understand tech, you have to understand business, and ...
Nov 10, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast It may seem like a strange time to launch a podcast about business when the pandemic has frozen so many things in place, but the future is still coming — people are building technology and making policy for it right now. And it’s important to talk to them. This is Decoder with Nilay Patel. New episodes coming November 10th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 27, 2020•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast After five years, Kara Swisher signs off as the host of Recode Decode. She and her producer Eric Johnson discuss five of the best moments in the show's 539-episode history; then, she talks with Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff about the future of Vox as the COVID-19 crisis continues and the media grapples with what it can do to unwind systemic racism; and finally, she answers questions submitted by 10 of her past guests, including Ronan Farrow, Carole Cadwalladr, Anthony Scaramucci, and Stephanie Ruhle...
Jul 01, 2020•2 hr 56 min•Ep 539•Transcript available on Metacast Former Google executive Sridhar Ramaswamy talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new startup, Neeva, which promises to offer paying subscribers a search engine with no ads and without selling its users' data. Ramaswamy, who worked at Google from 2003 to 2018, talks about how it evolved into an advertising powerhouse, why people should care about the "incredibly personal" details revealed by their search history, and why he believes Neeva can reach a larger-audience than just wealthy privacy-...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep 538•Transcript available on Metacast Former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the company's history of activism, the Facebook ad boycott that Patagonia helped start, and what she hopes it will accomplish. Marcario explains how Patagonia chooses which battles to fight, what she thinks of other business leaders who take public stands — such as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — and why we need more "good actors" in the corporate world. Plus: Is "compassionate capitalism" a real thing? This interview was recorded...
Jun 26, 2020•40 min•Ep 537•Transcript available on Metacast Call Your Girlfriend co-host Aminatou Sow talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about upcoming book with Ann Friedman, Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close. Sow discusses "how [she] got bamboozled into getting business-married” to Friedman, why they went to therapy together, and why talking about your friendships with your friends is so important. She also talks about why she refuses to hang out with friends on Zoom, the assumptions we all make about other people's friendships, and what you s...
Jun 24, 2020•55 min•Ep 536•Transcript available on Metacast Harvard professor Samantha Power, the former US ambassador the United Nations, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her 2019 memoir The Education of an Idealist, what idealism looks like now in America, and the Trump administration's deadly mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic — and what she would do differently were she in charge. Power also discusses how the Obama administration responded to the ebola epidemic in 2014, the growing power of tech leaders like Bill Gates, and what Mark Zucke...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep 535•Transcript available on Metacast The Hive authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how they came to write a young adult book about a social media dystopia, based on a cinematic idea from actor Jennifer Beals and producer Tom Jacobson. The 2019 book is set "five minutes in the future," where social media participation is mandated by the government for everyone over 13, which introduces some familiar social issues: The pressure to be perfect when everything is public, and the risk of mob justice w...
Jun 19, 2020•51 min•Ep 534•Transcript available on Metacast Symone Sanders, a senior advisor to Joe Biden and former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the 2020 campaign and her new memoir, No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America. Sanders reflects on her own political journey and explains why she's eager to support Biden this year — and why people who try to cast doubt on her career choices are "infuriating." Plus: What the Biden campaign wants from Facebook, and what advice does sh...
Jun 17, 2020•52 min•Ep 533•Transcript available on Metacast Basecamp CEO Jason Fried talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the company's new email product, Hey, which he describes as "the most ambitious and stupidest thing we’ve ever done." Fried also discusses how coronavirus proved that offices are not as important as other companies used to say, why Zoom calls "suck," and why Basecamp is charging $99/year for a personal Hey account, Plus: Why Uber is a "shitty business," why Fried doesn't want any public CEO's job, and the state of tech regulation. F...
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr•Ep 532•Transcript available on Metacast Katie Couric, the former host of the Today Show and anchor of the CBS Evening News, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why the current moment of political protest feels unlike anything that came before; the fine line between objectivity and advocacy in journalism; and her upcoming memoir, Unexpected. Couric also discusses the battle over Confederate history and art in the south, America's divided news diet, and what she thought of the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. Plus: Her famous inter...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 531•Transcript available on Metacast American historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new podcast, The Last Archive, which investigates "who killed truth?" in the style of a true-crime show. Lepore discusses why the protests against systemic police violence represent America "at our very best," but explains why the two main competing theories of American history are both wrong — and how it should be taught and studied instead. She also talks about the history of technologies, fro...
Jun 10, 2020•59 min•Ep 530•Transcript available on Metacast Journalist and author Bart Gellman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his newest book, Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State. Gellman discusses how he got connected with Snowden ahead of his whistleblowing disclosures in 2013; how he reacted to the staggering size of the US government's digital surveillance apparatus; and the different waves of impact of the Snowden leaks on the government and tech industry. He also talks about why people should still be concerned a...
Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep 529•Transcript available on Metacast Recode's Kara Swisher talks with three guests about how to take care of your mind, body, and spirit while in quarantine. Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe discusses the challenges of getting people to meditate, how to make your sleep more restful, and how to feel connected to loved ones you can't see right now; Peloton's head instructor Robin Arzon talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the company's business, why you should focus on what you can control when exercising, and the future of work...
Jun 05, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep 528•Transcript available on Metacast Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the new book she wrote with her wife Anne Morriss, Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. Frei — who has previously worked with Uber, WeWork, and Riot Games to address culture crises — discusses what good leadership today looks like, the unfair treatment of women and people of color in business, and why it's a mistake to chase "balance" or "equal treatment." She also refle...
Jun 03, 2020•52 min•Ep 527•Transcript available on Metacast Lemonade CEO and co-founder Daniel Schreiber talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about what happens to an insurance in a crisis like COVID-19, how some of the money from Lemonade customers' premiums will be allocated to coronavirus relief, and whether the insurance industry can be fully automated. Schreiber also talks about Lemonade's decision to be a public benefit corporation, why that doesn't make them "do-gooders," and why he strives to be more like Ulysses from the Odyssey and not like Mark Zu...
Jun 01, 2020•52 min•Ep 526•Transcript available on Metacast New York Times Magazine writer-at-large Jon Mooallem talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his newest book, This Is Chance!: The Shaking of an All-American City, A Voice That Held It Together. It tells the story of a 9.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Anchorage, Alaska in 1964 and how a part-time radio reporter named Genie Chance held her community together. Mooallem recounts how he got his hands on the recordings of Chance's broadcasts and reported out the full story of the disaster, which h...
May 29, 2020•51 min•Ep 525•Transcript available on Metacast Phil Howard, the Oxford Internet Institute director and author of Lie Machines, and Emily Bell, the director of Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about the state of disinformation and propaganda in the coronavirus pandemic and how what we're hearing this year compares to the state-organized propaganda that infected elections in 2016. They explain some of the most pervasive conspiracy theories and campaigns — including the untruthful document...
May 27, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 524•Transcript available on Metacast Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about Uber's evolving response to the COVID-19 pandemic, how it's preparing for the world to re-open, and the one segment of the company that is thriving right now — its food delivery business, UberEats. Khosrowshahi also discusses the company's recent 6700-person layoffs, the blowback UberEats has received for the fees it imposes on restaurant owners, and the “rumors” that it will acquire food delivery rival GrubHub, and why that would...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep 523•Transcript available on Metacast Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky returns to Recode Decode to talk with Kara Swisher about how the company is "going back to [its] roots" after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its IPO; the future of travel and hospitality in a world with way fewer people taking airplanes; and how Airbnb tried to "lead by example" in its severance payments and benefits to laid-off employees. Chesky also talks about the delay of projects such as a previously-announced flight booking program, why fewer people will work from on...
May 22, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep 522•Transcript available on Metacast Former Clinton and Obama economic advisor Gene Sperling talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his latest book, Economic Dignity, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing attitudes toward essential labor and compensation. He predicts that unemployment could top 10 percent for several years to come, and evaluates the federal government's response to the crisis so far, explaining what he would tell President Trump if he were still in the White House today. Sperling also talks about the need for l...
May 20, 2020•57 min•Ep 521•Transcript available on Metacast Recode's Kara Swisher talks with the Verge's Casey Newton and her older son, Louie Swisher, about how the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine has affected their tech habits. They also discuss Louie's remote final months of high school, the future of video conferencing, and the growing power of tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon. Newton also talks about his reporting on Facebook moderators who developed PTSD on the job, which led to a recent $52 million settlement. Plus: What is everyone watchi...
May 18, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 520•Transcript available on Metacast Historian and bestselling author Jon Meacham talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new podcast Hope Through History, which shows how Americans endured crises such as the Great Depression and the 1918 flu pandemic and came out the other side as a stronger nation. Meacham says there's no guarantee that the coronavirus pandemic will be resolved in the same way as the moments he has studied, but that it's a mistake to imagine that the past was a simpler "fairy tale" time without comparable stru...
May 15, 2020•50 min•Ep 519•Transcript available on Metacast Model and dietitian Maye Musk (the mother of Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, entrepreneur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk) talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her recent memoir, A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success. Musk also discusses ageism in modeling, her aversion to the "weird diets" that have caught on in Silicon Valley, and how she was a "pillar" to her three entrepreneurial kids. Plus: Does she want to go to Mars with Elon? (Note: This interv...
May 13, 2020•50 min•Ep 518•Transcript available on Metacast Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why he tried to primary Donald Trump earlier this year, how the Republican Party became a "cult," and his recent book, F*ck Silence: Calling Trump Out for the Cultish, Moronic, Authoritarian Con Man He Is. Walsh, who also hosts a podcast called F*ck Silence, says the coronavirus crisis is finally starting to convince people who don't pay attention to politics that they should vote against President Trump in November, ...
May 11, 2020•54 min•Ep 517•Transcript available on Metacast NYU Professor and Pivot co-host Scott Galloway returns to Recode Decode to talk about his new show on Vice TV, No Mercy, No Malice with Professor Scott Galloway. He and Recode's Kara Swisher also talk about how they started working together, why he decided to branch out into podcasting and then TV, and the "most disruptable" industries that young people should be going into right now — healthcare and higher education. Galloway explains what he would do if he were the provost of a major universit...
May 08, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep 516•Transcript available on Metacast Political historian Alexis Coe talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her latest book, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, which seeks to break the staid formula by which all other books about America's first president have been written. Coe says she is the only female historian to write a book about Washington, and discovered that other biographies written by white men have popularized sexist untruths about his single mother, while obscuring some crucial details about...
May 06, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep 515•Transcript available on Metacast BuzzFeed News reporter Alex Kantrowitz talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, Always Day One: How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever. He discusses how coronavirus may change consumers’ relationship with tech giants, the opportunity for a new major labor movement, and how the companies he profiled in the book — including Amazon, Apple, and Facebook — keep from getting out-innovated. Kantrowitz says education, and not automation, is the larger problem for the long-term futur...
May 04, 2020•59 min•Ep 514•Transcript available on Metacast TV producer Ryan Murphy — who created or produced shows like Glee, 911, and American Horror Story — talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new Netflix miniseries, Hollywood, which blends real history with fictional characters to imagine a more inclusive "what-if" version of the postwar film business. Murphy explains how shows like Glee and Modern Family encouraged LGBT acceptance, why he doesn't use Twitter anymore, and his mega-deal with Netflix, which was reported to be worth up to $300 mi...
May 01, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep 513•Transcript available on Metacast Bulletproof founder and former CEO Dave Asprey talks about the invention and current state of “biohacking," how his blog for “bulletproof executives” grew into a global lifestyle, and the most important ways to track and improve one’s life. Asprey explains how intermittent fasting works — but may not be right for everyone seven days a week — and says that quality of sleep is more important than quantity: Getting 8 hours of sleep every night is “garbage science,” he claims. He also discusses cryo...
Apr 29, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep 512•Transcript available on Metacast